As great as a Neato Botvac is, sometimes the robot will encounter issues. Two of the most common types of problems are connectivity and navigation. In this post, we share with you the complete Neato Botvac troubleshooting guide. You can use the quick navigation tab below to browse through the solutions easily.

General Maintenance Tips

The general maintenance tips should ideally be done before troubleshooting any issue. Follow these steps to make sure your robot is well-maintained before running it again:

1. Ensure that both the filter and dirt bin are clean and properly inserted.
2. Make sure the dirt bin is in the robot and properly seated in position. The top of the dirt bin should be level with the top of the robot if inserted correctly.
3. Make sure the brush and end caps are clear of debris, and remove any hair or debris that is wrapped around it.
4. Make sure wheel wells aren’t blocked with debris.

Press the Start Button to start the robot. If it still has issues, follow the next 2 steps:

5. Using a dry cotton swab, please spin the laser housing under the laser cover 5 times in each direction being careful to avoid the openings in the housing.
6. Use a dry cotton swab to clean the two drop sensor windows on the bottom of the robot. Press the Start Button to start the robot.
7. Press and hold the Start Button for 15 seconds to reset your robot. All of the lights on the robot will turn off. Press the Start Button to turn the robot back on.

If the reset does not solve the issue, try performing a hard reset. Depending on your Neato Botvac model, the steps to perform a hard reset varies. You can learn more about it right here.

You can learn more on how to clean Neato Botvac right here. If the issue you are experiencing still persists, continue troubleshooting your Neato Botvac below.

Why is my Neato blinking red?

If the LED light on a Neato Botvac is blinking red or solid red, your robot needs robot maintenance or your robot has a navigation issue. If the battery LED on a Neato Botvac is blinking red, it means the battery has a fault and must be serviced or replaced.

Connectivity Troubleshooting

Whether you have never been able to connect your Neato Botvac to the internet, your robot has intermittent disconnections, or it is offline while at the charge base, all of the solutions are quite simple:

1. Never been able to connect to robot 

1. Do not try to connect before hearing the chime

• Retry the easy connect process and wait for the robot to make a sound before pressing the button.
• Do not try to connect your Neato Botvac before hearing the chime. Wait until you hear your Neato Botvac make a sound. You may be pressing the “Connect to Robot Access Point” button too early.

2. Neato Botvac cannot get past “connecting to the internet”

• Make sure a secure https site can be reached with your mobile device on that SSID, such as Gmail, or https://www.httpvshttps.com/ 
• Make sure the port 443 is not blocked on the router settings. Note any DNS restrictions or settings. If DNS (ports 52 or 53) are explicitly disallowed, allow them.
• If a rule exists to only allow port 80 traffic, add HTTPS or SSL (port 443) and DNS (port 53).
• If you are unable to allow traffic on port 53, that should be okay, it is not essential.
• Use Google NPS servers instead of a router or ISP (Google DNS primary is 8.8.8.8, secondary 8.8.4.4) and try to reconnect.

If these steps do not work, contact Neato customer care who will help further. Neato currently does not have support for Enterprise level password security (WEP EAP).

3. Neato Botvac cannot get past “registering your robot on Neato server”

• Make sure your Neato Botvac has not already been added on a different account.
• Make sure your smartphone or tablet is on the same Wi-Fi network. Use your device and go to https://beehive.neatocloud.com. This should redirect you to the regular neatorobotics.com website.
• If you do not see the regular Neato Robotics website, reboot your router and contact your internet service provider and inform them you are unable to access SSL Secure Websites.
• If you already see the website and still cannot connect your robot, contact Neato for help.

2. Robot has intermittent disconnections

• Your Neato Botvac should connect once it is back in range of the Wi-Fi. Maps are stored on the robot, so if it disconnects while running, it still should adhere to Floor Planner features like No-Go Lines and Zone cleaning on compatible devices.
• If you have a D7 and are using 5 GHz Wi-Fi, try switching to 2.4 GHz.
• Check the software version of your robot. It should be 4.2.3 or greater.
• Power cycle the robot by pressing and holding the start button until the robot turns off. Then restart by pressing again. Completely shut down the app and restart.
• Is the Wi-Fi router centrally located? Find dead spots - Walk around with your smartphone or tablet looking to see if there are signal drops to one or two bars. Is it possible to move the router to try and eliminate the coverage gap? Try this as a last resort.
• If this does not work, please contact Neato for help.

3. Robot says it is offline while at the charge base

• Make sure your Wi-Fi connection is working at home. Have any changes been made to your Wi-Fi settings recently as that may have caused an issue?
• Check the software version of your robot. It should be 4.2.3 or greater. 
• Power cycle the robot by pressing and holding the start button until the robot turns off. Then restart by pressing again. Completely shut down the app and restart. Wait 10 minutes and see if the “offline” message goes away.
• If you are using 5 GHz Wi-fi, switch to 2.4 GHz and re-do step 3.
• If this does not work, delete the network and reconnect.
• If this does not work, please contact Neato for help.

Navigation Troubleshooting

1. Error code troubleshooting

If your Neato Botvac has a navigation issue, here’s what each error code means and what to do:

1. Clear my path 2000-2012 - Check environment, clean the sensors, clean the brush from hair and/or debris, check wheel and bumper.
2. Vision block 1000-4000 - Clean all sensors including the laser module. Located on top of your Neato Botvac inside of the round turret are two lenses. These lenses are how your Neato maps out a room. Use a Q-Tip to turn the turret 5 times in each direction without putting Q-Tip on the laser eye. Use compressed air to give the turret a few blasts of air.
3. Dust me off so I can see - Make sure the protective screen film has been fully removed and is not peeling up and blocking the robot’s vision. Wipe the surface off with a soft cloth.
4. Bumper stuck - Ensure the bumper moves freely and clicks in all four directions, click each direction rapidly a few times to check if all of the sensors are clicking and not getting stuck. If the bumper is stuck your robot vacuum may go around in circles.
5. Vision error 4101 - 4102 - Press the start button and the robot will resume.
6. The path to zone is blocked (2013) - Clear the path. The robot is not necessarily smart enough to try a different path to find the zone if the original path is blocked completely. Make zones bigger giving the robot more options to find it.

2. Robot does not get past “checking surroundings”

1. Ensure the robot has at least 3 feet of space on both sides and in front of the robot. (Near a corner is a good spot for the charge base).
2. Your Neato and base should be on a solid flat surface.
3. Avoid placing the base in direct sunlight, near glass walls or overly metallic objects.
4. Ensure the charge base has not moved since the floor plan was created.
5. Ensure doors and furniture within 10-15 feet of the charge base have not changed in any significant way since the floor plan was created and No-Go Lines were originally set up. This includes foot stools, laundry baskets, and other solid elements that the robot may be seeing when it leaves the base.
6. If this doesn’t work, please recreate a new floor plan.

3. No-Go Lines being ignored

• Check environment - Check to see if objects around the No-Go Lines have moved in any significant way since the floor plan was created which would have caused the No-Go Lines to be ignored.
• Visual and app map comparison - Compare where you saw the robot ignore No-Go lines and compare to the cleaning map generated at the end of the cycle. Check the No-Go lines are properly defined and that there are no gaps that would allow the robot to go past the line you have drawn.
• Redraw and save No-Go Lines - Ensure No-Go Lines are drawn beyond the wall to make sure the robot is not sneaking through small gaps in the No-Go Lines.

4. Robot not docking properly

• Check the charge base - Ensure the base is on a solid surface, up against a wall with 3 feet of clear space around it. Avoid placing the base in direct sunlight, near glass walls or overly metallic objects. Ensure the base is plugged in.
• Clean the sensors - Clean all sensors including the laser module. Located on top of your Neato Botvac inside of the round turret are two lenses. These lenses are how your Neato maps out a room. Use a Q-Tip to turn the turret 5 times in each direction without putting Q-Tip on the laser eye. Use compressed air to give the turret a few blasts of air.

5. Robot fails to finish, misses room during floor plan creation, or starts missing a room that it used to clean

• Check if the robot is physically capable of transitioning into the missing room (check if the floor height difference is too great, or whether the doors are open or not).
• Place the robot back on base and try again.
• Try moving the base, re-mapping.
• If the problem persists, contact Neato customer care to resolve it.

6. “Please press OK to continue” with number code (for Botvac Connected and D80/D85 models only)

• Go through the steps in general maintenance tips, which include cleaning all of the sensors, cleaning the laser, cleaning the brush, and inspecting the wheel and bumper.
• Next, while your Neato is off the charge base, try power cycling your Neato by pressing and holding the start button for 30 seconds. The lights on the Neato will now turn off. Please wait up to a minute for Neato to turn on when you hear the startup sound.

7. “Please clear my path” with number code

• This error may be a number of things including your Neato needing to be cleaned and maintained, or it may be the environment in your house.
• First go through the steps in general maintenance tips, which include cleaning all of the sensors, cleaning the laser, cleaning the brush, and inspecting the wheel and bumper.
• Please make sure your Neato is free from any location if it was stuck or if anything was stuck in the wheels or brush.
• Make sure there is nothing preventing the robot from moving forward (obstacles, it is tangled in cords, the robot is not flat on floor, or is over an air vent on the floor that is triggering the drop sensor).
• If the error persists, while Neato is away from the charge base please try power cycling your Neato by pressing and holding the start button for 30 seconds. The lights on the Neato will now turn off. Please wait up to a minute for Neato to turn on.
• If the problem persists, contact Neato customer care to resolve it.

Bottom Line

Now you know how to troubleshoot every issue with your Neato Botvac.

Remember, after every cleaning, empty the dirt bin and tap the filter against the side of a trash bin to release the dirt and debris from the filter. Clean your Neato brushes, filters, and sensors every 2 weeks.

A Neato Botvac battery may not charge if the battery needs to be replaced. Ideally, you should replace it after 1.5 years of use.